Judge enters the temporarily secured office with the transfer ledger and altered records beneath his robes. Corren remains in Voss’s custody at The Final Edict, while the guards stay behind with him.
Tomoka waits beside a shuttered window, her messy orange-red ponytail and small horns outlined by the warm glow of her fire-bright eyes. Her curled salamander tail warms the cramped room.
Tomoka
You made it back. I used the guild channels before anyone could decide the records belonged to them.
She places a folded summons on the desk. Its wax bears a judicial mark beneath the guild’s counterseal, and the parchment smells faintly of ash and sealing resin.
Tomoka
It names Halven Rusk, Voss’s hidden witness. The seal says he is already under judicial protection, so ordinary summons will not reach him.
The document states that Halven Rusk must be confronted before tomorrow’s trial, but gives only a guarded location: the old petitioners’ hospice in Vauld.
Tomoka
Do we challenge the protection openly, or find out who placed him under it before the tribunal convenes?
✓ Quest Accepted
Find evidence of the original crime
“"Well done, Tomoka. But challenging their protection will only hinder our efforts and credibility. With Voss being involved with this trial, matters are only going to worsen." I will copy the summons and seal it with the contested records.”
SUCCESS (Good Investigation, rolled +2)
Judge
Well done, Tomoka. Challenging their protection would hinder our efforts and credibility. With Voss involved, matters will only worsen.
Judge draws the summons from the desk and places it beside the transfer ledger. He studies its judicial mark and guild counterseal before preparing a faithful copy.
Tomoka
Then the copy can travel where the original cannot. I will keep the guild channel ready, but I will not expose it prematurely.
Using the office’s ink and clean parchment, Judge reproduces the summons, guarded location, and seals with careful precision. The copy preserves every significant mark and wording.
Judge
The copy must remain tied to the contested records.
Judge folds the copied summons around the altered pages and transfer ledger, then binds the bundle beneath fresh wax. His mark joins the copied judicial seal without disturbing the originals.
Tomoka
It is sealed and accounted for. Whatever Voss claims tomorrow, this record shows exactly what was copied, what was contested, and what remains in your custody.
+ New Item Acquired
Copied summons
“I lean against the desk with both hands. My body language would indicate stress. "After this trial's verdict. We must transfer to another location. This office may no longer be a safe haven from Voss afterwards."”
SUCCESS (Good Persuasion, rolled -1)
Judge
After the trial’s verdict, we must transfer elsewhere. This office may no longer be a safe haven from Voss.
Judge leans against the desk with both hands, shoulders held rigid beneath his robes. The copied summons and sealed records remain between him and Tomoka.
Tomoka
Then we move before the verdict is cold. I can secure a guild wayhouse in Vauld, but it will place my channels under scrutiny.
Tomoka folds the summons and tucks it beneath her clerk’s ledger. Her fire-bright eyes flick toward the shuttered window, where dusk gathers around The Final Edict.
Tomoka
The wayhouse is not a fortress. It is a recognized guild shelter, and using it means I stake my standing on your custody of these records.
Tomoka
If Voss discovers the channel, he will call this collusion. If I refuse, Judge and the evidence may have nowhere safe to go.
Tomoka
I am persuaded. After tomorrow’s verdict, we transfer the records and witnesses there, and I will answer for opening the door.
“"Do not place yourself in a unfavorable position, Tomoka. We can not afford to wager your channels in such circumstances. We must devise another plan."”
SUCCESS (Good Persuasion, rolled +3)
Judge
Do not place yourself in an unfavorable position, Tomoka. We cannot afford to wager your channels. We must devise another plan.
Judge’s measured refusal settles over the office. Tomoka studies him, then loosens her grip on the clerk’s ledger as the danger to her guild standing becomes undeniable.
Tomoka
You are right. I withdraw the wayhouse request, and my channels remain untouched. We will not make my guild answer for your custody.
She opens the ledger to a page of coded wayhouse marks and draws a fresh line beneath the Vauld entry, cancelling the proposed transfer without disturbing the sealed records.
Tomoka
There is another path. The guild keeps a neutral registry of sealed deliveries, witnessed by three clerks. I can file the bundle there without naming you or exposing my private channel.
Tomoka
That protects the evidence, preserves my standing, and gives Voss no claim that I hid a fugitive or altered a record.
The registry offers Judge a documented chain of custody beyond this office, while Tomoka’s personal channels remain concealed. For the first time, her plan carries protection without surrendering leverage.